When You're Gone
by YulianaHenderson
Summary: "By far, Teresa Lisbon's favorite moment of the day was pulling onto the driveway to their little cabin and walk the few steps up the porch, to hear excited feet tapping on the other side of the door already. 'Mommy' She opened the door and was met by her three-year-old daughter." Jisbon, future-fic with a baby girl, just pure fluff and a little bit of tantrums.


**A/N: Right! So it's been a while since I last wrote something for The Mentalist, but this little piece just flew into my head and I couldn't not write it. Please enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **'When you're gone'**_

By far, Teresa Lisbon's favorite moment of the day was pulling onto the driveway to their little cabin and walk the few steps up the porch, to hear excited feet tapping on the other side of the door already.

"Mommyyyy!"

She opened the door and was met by her three-year-old daughter, dressed in one of the girl's favorite superhero costumes and a smile that was clearly reminiscent of her father's. Lisbon bowed down and hugged the girl tightly, but the girl was way too excited to see her to stand still for any meaningful hugs.

"You're home!"

Lisbon smiled and kissed the girl's cheek, but chuckled when she protested and pointed to her lips instead. Indulging her toddler, she kissed the girl on the lips and then wrapped her arms around her tightly and lifted her into the air.

Not long after, Patrick Jane appeared, his face a little weird but his curls in disarray - that usually only meant two things; either him and Lisbon had just made passionate love, or Ivy and him had had a lot of fun together all afternoon.

After kissing briefly, being pushed apart like usual by their daughter, they quickly picked up their familiar routine - Jane, starting preparations for dinner while Lisbon kept an eye on Ivy, watching the girl's favorite cartoon together.

Not long after dinner, as the three of them were settled in on the couch, she could tell Jane was fighting sleep, as was Ivy, who was comfortably cuddled into Lisbon's side, sucking her thumb, a habit they were trying to get her to stop but it was difficult to quit.

"What do you two do anyway while I'm gone?"

Jane zoned out a little, obviously reliving the day, and her heart warmed when a smile appeared on his lips, even though it was definitely a sleepy one.

" _Don't leave, Mommy!"_

" _I'll be back, sweetie. Don't worry."_

" _Don't go!"_

 _Jane could tell that Teresa was wondering whether she really needed to get into work today, and he briefly thought of calling Cho to call in that she was sick, but he knew she would kill him and he liked to have her back in his arms sometime later today. Instead, he settled for watching this painful routine, little Ivy fearing each and every day that her mother wouldn't come back to her, and Teresa's heart breaking when some occasional tear showed up on Ivy's cheeks._

 _Ivy was good at manipulating her mother, but she seemed not to realize that Teresa was skilled in avoiding these kinds of tricks. A decade and a half of being his best friend had trained her well, and he couldn't say he wasn't proud._

" _Now, go to Daddy."_

" _Mommy," Ivy whimpered one final time, but she seemed to realize it didn't work. She pouted, hung her head and walked over to him. Just to make sure she didn't suddenly run off, he lifted her into his arms, brushing her stubborn dark curls out of her face._

" _I love you, Mommy," she muttered, brushing her own tears off her cheeks. He had done that for her once, and she had scolded him for it, claiming with a limited vocabulary that she was a strong and independent woman who didn't need 'no man'. He had learned his lesson quickly._

" _I love you, too, Ivy."_

 _Little Ivy buried her head in the crook of his neck once the front door closed, and she knew her mother would be gone for the remainder of the day until dinner._

" _I want Mommy to come back."_

" _I know, Giggles. But she'll be back tonight, like she always does."_

 _She shrugged, but he knew she was aware that both him and Teresa were telling the truth. She was far from stupid, both of their intellects coming together to form one smart little girl who could fool even the best, and Jane guessed it was always meant to be that he was outsmarted by a three-year-old._

"Oh, you know, the usual."

Lisbon didn't inquire further, knowing Jane must do a ton of things, because she hardly ever had to clean or cook or do the laundry. She wondered if Ivy helped him with some of the chores, but then realized the girl was sweet but lazy, and probably often settled for watching her father do the work instead. Couldn't say she blamed her.

" _I could really use a hand, Giggles."_

 _He really didn't, he could probably do the laundry blindfolded, but he liked to introduce Ivy to the concept of chores and housekeeping, wanting her to be independent later on in life. Didn't matter that she was only three - kids these days were never too young to learn for their future._

" _Na-ah."_

 _He looked over his shoulder and saw her sitting on her little Winnie the Pooh chair, which she had dragged into the laundry room for this sole purpose - to watch him work and probably even criticize him while doing so. He had to fight down his smile - she was a piece of work, but he didn't expect anything else from Teresa Lisbon's daughter._

" _Okay, let's make a compromise. You help me with the laundry, and we'll have a tea party this afternoon after your nap."_

" _I don't want to nap."_

" _That's not up for negotiation."_

 _She crossed her arms, peeved, but still went over her options. Really, he knew she was a bit too young to be truly helping with chores, but no matter her defiance, he could tell that she was picking up on the idea, helping out him or Teresa whenever she could (and wanted)._

" _Okay."_

 _She got up, straightening her petticoat skirt and pirate hat (she was the poster girl for gender neutral playing) and stepping close to help. He handed her one of his shirts and assisted her in putting it in the washing machine._

" _I like helping you, Daddy."_

" _I know, Giggles."_

 _She proved that nickname was the perfect one for her when she giggled heartily as she got a hold of one of his boxers. She was such a sweet little girl, and he loved her with everything he had._

"I don't want to nap, Mommy."

Lisbon looked down at Ivy who was now interested in their conversation, too, although Lisbon wasn't really sure whether the girl knew what was being discussed. Not that it mattered at all.

"You need your nap or you'll get grumpy, Ivy."

"I don't get grumpy."

Lisbon looked at Jane, whose eyes were basically smiling at her, but she wasn't really sure what it was he was thinking about.

" _Ivy, I won't ask you again. Please get in your bed and stay there."_

" _Daddyyyy!"_

" _You_ will _nap, because I won't allow Mommy to be with a grumpy Ivy tonight."_

 _She pouted and pulled at her hair, then slammed her tiny fists on the bed beside her. Not that it had much force behind it, but he could tell that she was frustrated. (He didn't need these big hints to know that his daughter was cranky, he knew her through and through.) But he had to carry through, because he knew she would be incredibly grumpy somewhere around dinner and what with the little time Teresa sometimes got to spend with Ivy, he wanted it to be near perfect. Of course, Ivy always ruined those plans, and he knew he couldn't create a perfect child for his wife, but there was no shame in trying, right?_

 _In any case, he didn't like dealing with a grumpy Ivy in the evenings either, especially because by that time, he would be tired too, and his patience would be severely tested. Ivy was very good in testing people's limits. (Sound familiar, much?)_

" _I'll read you one bedtime story but then it's over."_

 _She seemed to accept this attempt at a truce, and she settled underneath the covers while he got her favorite book. He didn't even need to have the physical copy in his hands anymore, knew the text by heart, but she liked to look at the pictures._

 _She was out like a light after only three pages._

"I'm three, Mommy. No more naps."

"You'll stop having your naps once you don't need them anymore."  
"I don't need them anymore."

"Yes you do."

Ivy pouted, noticing that her mother had much a similar idea on the concept of naps as her father had. When Ivy was still just a baby, Jane had once communicated that he really liked to have consistency for their daughter, that they should be on the same page because it created structure and kids loved that. Ivy protested it, of course, but Lisbon knew it only did her good to have that kind of structure.

Ivy settled into her side again and focused on the TV, and Lisbon looked at Jane again, who was now seriously close to being asleep. She knew, because she had thankfully spent the past three-and-a-half years in the same bed as him, watching him fall asleep, watching him lightly snoring, smiling in his sleep, hold onto her tightly. Even then, before they had gotten together, she had a lot of experience watching him fall asleep on the couch in her old CBI office, so she knew when he was fooling her, feigning sleep. Now was not one of those moments.

" _I napped! Now I gets tea!"_

 _He had just started to drift off a little, but he wasn't surprised to see Ivy still in her PJ's in front of the couch, her curls in massive disarray, but she looked visibly rested and that was why she should nap in the first place. He sighed a little and pushed up straight. She was not the kind of child who forgot about promises - once made, she would remember them until they were fulfilled, or until she was old and grey, whichever came first._

 _She jumped up in excitement and ran into the kitchen, and it instantly woke him up completely, rushing after her, knowing she was eager for their tea party but also knowing she was only three and he didn't want her to make the tea herself. Not without his supervision, anyway._

 _Ten minutes later, he was seated on one ridiculously tiny pink chair, knowing full well he was too heavy for it, but also knowing that Ivy would scold him if he used any other chairs. He had even brought out cookies, two for each, and a plastic cup with water for her teddy._

" _When I'm a grown up, I will have a tea party every day."_

" _Nobody's stopping you," he replied with a smile, sipping at his tea. He had done extensive research in the best kinds of tea, knowing that in his favorites there was quite a lot of caffeine and he didn't want her to be even more energetic than she already was. Anyway, nap time was a pain in the butt as it was, nighttime even more so, so he would make it even harder for him and Teresa if he gave their daughter caffeinated tea._

 _So, Rooibos and Honeybush tea it was, though it was far from his favorite kind. But it did gain popularity with him as he watched his daughter enjoy it so much._

" _Skittle wants some tea, too."_

" _He can have water."_

" _Why can't he have tea?"_

" _Because he doesn't like tea."_

" _You didn't even ask." She leaned in towards her penguin friend, her tea dangerously close to spilling over the edge. Good thing he didn't prepare it piping hot, or he might be in the emergency room every other week. "Do you like tea, Skittle?"_

 _He smiled at her as she actually left space for him to respond, and maybe in her head the stuffed animal was. He loved how great her imagination was, she could think of an entire fantasy world before breakfast - one in which she didn't have to nap, obviously. He couldn't believe nap- and nighttime were some of the biggest struggles in their daily lives, but then he realized that most kids hated to go to bed, because they had a natural case of FOMO. Although he didn't know what it had meant at first, but Wiley had educated him._

" _You're right, Daddy. Skittle doesn't like tea."_

 _She sipped her own, and looking at his beautiful baby daughter, hopefully enjoying her childhood as much as he was enjoying hers, he once again saw so much of his wife in her - her dark hair, even though it was curled like his, definitely looked like hers, her eyes Teresa's kind of green, expressing so much without words, so deep he could almost look into the soul that was hidden behind them. And she had her mother's smile, that cute dimple in her cheek marked as Jane's favorite place to plant kisses when she was grinning at him wide after one of his stupid jokes._

 _He honestly couldn't have imagined that this would be his life, waking up too early because of some stupid alarm that alerted his wife she should get up and get showered and dressed, have some enthusiastic three year old push him around all day, while he desperately tried to get some chores done in between play sessions._

 _He was so far gone he didn't realize Ivy had stepped beside him until he felt something touch his lips, and realized with quick amusement that it was lipstick, her favorite one that she had 'borrowed' from her mother and that had been missing ever since. He knew Ivy kept it hidden somewhere between her toys but he had never found it, hadn't really wanted to find it anyway because Teresa had been all too happy to have lost that. (It didn't seem to matter that he loved this color on her lips, making them so kissable, but she proved him in other ways that he couldn't keep from kissing her anyway. He had enjoyed being covered by her lipstick, though, the obvious evidence that Teresa Lisbon had kissed him senseless.)_

" _You're a pretty girl now, Daddy."_

" _I'm not a girl," he laughed, brushing a curl out of her face. She never really noticed when anyone did that, because usually when she was in this close proximity to somebody she was definitely preoccupied with something else entirely._

" _Now you are." She giggled as she finished applying the lipstick, and the look on her face made it all worthwhile._

" _Am I the prettiest girl?"_

 _She giggled even louder and shook her head, one of her short arms wrapped around his neck, and he pulled her close so she could sit in his lap._

" _No! Mommy is! But you're pretty, too, Daddy."_

" _Well, thank you, Giggles. You're pretty, too."_

 _She blushed and hugged him tightly. He had vouched, from the minute she was born, to make her feel absolutely amazing about herself so she could never doubt that she was beautiful and kind and smart. Because she was, all of those things and many more things, too._

"I fully enjoy being a housewife, if that's what concerns you."

She shook her head, brushing her daughter's hair, some stubborn curls sticking out to tickle Lisbon's chin.

"No. I know you do. I'm just curious."

Jane smiled and sat up a little, probably in an attempt not to fall asleep on the couch. She knew he would hate himself if he fell asleep too early in the evening.

"Well, mostly chores and a lot of fighting, but we have fun. Don't we, Ivy?"

Ivy smiled, already halfway asleep, and just a look from Jane told her it was definitely bedtime for the little girl.

"I'll get her to bed. You've worked hard enough as it is."

He shook his head and got up to assist, but she just pushed him back down while she got up with Ivy in her arms.

"You've worked, too, Teresa."

"Don't be fooled. I wait all day at my desk to get home to you two."

He smiled at that statement, not the entire truth, but it wasn't a blatant lie either. He could see past those anyway, and she could tell that he found she was being honest. She did spent most of her day looking at the picture of her husband and child on her desk, counting down the minutes until she could jump into her car and return to their loving arms, but unfortunately it was often interrupted by actual work.

She had been a workaholic before, but she was starting to see why Jane liked being unemployed. Still, somebody had to earn a living, and considering Jane had never liked working in the first place, it had quickly turned out to be her who needed to leave Mondays to Fridays to pay for their food.

"I'll get her to bed," she repeated. "Don't go anywhere."

His smile widened as she leaned in to kiss his lips, and while she was excited to spend some time alone with her only child, she really couldn't wait to be back in his arms again.

When she returned into the living room, certain Ivy was properly tucked in and out like a light, she found, perhaps unsurprisingly, Jane already fast asleep.

She let a smile spread across her lips (he was still so innocent while asleep, unable to do any harm, even though he hadn't really harmed a fly since they had gotten together).

She slipped into the space beside him, carefully putting his arms around her without waking him up, and rested in his arms like this until he woke up and cursed himself for falling asleep, claiming he had a hundred things to do.

He gave up his fight, though, when she kissed his lips, and they spent the rest of the evening making out and watching some stupid cartoon.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this! Thanks for your continued support!**


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